Rajasthan Passes Anti-Conversion Bill, BJP MLA Asks Muslim Legislators to ‘Return to Original Religion’

Jaipur: The Rajasthan assembly on Tuesday (September 9) passed the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2025, which has the provision for life imprisonment as the maximum punishment for illegal religious conversion.

Several MLAs of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with a few independents supported the proposed anti-conversion law during the debate on the Bill.

BJP MLA from Civil Lines Gopal Sharma even urged Rafeek Khan and Amin Kagzi, two Muslim legislators from the Congress to ‘return to their original religion’.

“Aur jo hamare sadasya dharm parivartan kiye hue hain, Shriman Rafiq Khan aur Kagzi Wagerah, inse nivedan karta hun ki mool dharm mein aaiye, mool dharm mein aaiye (And our members who have changed their religion, Rafeek Khan and (Amin) Kagzi, I request them to come back to their original religion, come back to their original religion),” said Sharma, while concluding his remarks in support of the Bill.

Notably, the provisions of the Bill prescribing various punishments for those indulging in “illegal conversion” don’t apply to those who convert back to their original religion or “ghar wapsi”.

‘Ghar wapsi’ – literally, ‘homecoming’ – is the Sangh parivar-led programme of religious conversion to Hinduism from Islam, Christianity, and other religions in India. The Sangh’s position is that all Indians were originally Hindus and thus this conversion will necessarily mean a ‘return’.

During the debate on the Bill, minister of state for the home department Jawahar Singh Bedham said that while Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, it does not allow any poor, Dalit, Tribal, oppressed, exploited, deprived person to be forced to change his religion by greed, temptation, fear or deception,” said Bedham.

“I would say that Lord Krishna had said at that time that o Arjuna, whenever there is loss of religion and increase of evil, then I myself appear as an avatar. The friends in the opposition should think that for the protection of religion, the chief minister of the state has done the work of bringing this Bill in the House keeping in mind the sentiments of lakhs and crores of people,” said Bedham.

The Bill has provisions for prolonged imprisonment for offenders, including imprisonment of 14 years, 20 years and life imprisonment in certain cases. It also has provisions for monetary fines ranging up to Rs 50 lakh.

The opposition Congress didn’t participate in the debate for the bill in the assembly, as at the time of the discussion the party was raising slogans at the well of the House, alleging that additional cameras were installed near the opposition benches to keep a tab on them.

‘My feelings are hurt, Bill will be misused against public’

Speaking to The Wire, Congress MLA and the party’s chief whip in the assembly Rafeek Khan said BJP MLA Gopal Sharma’s comments about him “returning to original religion” have hurt his feelings.

“My original religion is the religion into which I was born. By asking other people to convert, it is Sharma, who is behaving like an accused as per the anti-conversion bill. Let alone anyone else here, an MLA is being asked to convert! Ghar wapsi is for people who voluntarily want to change their religion. People such as Sharma, who are asking others to convert, are ironically committing the same offences mentioned in the bill,” Khan told The Wire on Wednesday (September 10).

Khan alleged that Sharma’s statement showed “how the Bill will be misused in the future.”

“My feelings have been hurt by Sharma's statement. I will raise the issue in the meeting of Congress legislators,” said Khan.

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